PRACTITIONERS

Vaidya Balendu Prakash
Born in a family of Ayurvedic physician the late Vaidya Chandra Prakash, Vaidya Balendu Prakash has contributed extensively in developing and advancing a formula for the successful treatment of cancer which was accidentally discovered by his father in the early sixties. After completing his school education from Government Inter College, with a Bachelor of Sciences from D.N. Degree College, Vaidya Balendu Prakash enroled himself for a B.A.M.S course (i.e. a five year degree course in ayurveda) at the Rohtak University. He started his private practice in January 1985 at Meerut and shifted to Dehradun in October 1989. He has traveled extensively all over India and more than thirty different countries several times to treat individual patents suffering from multiple scleriosis and cancer.

He has did a certificate course in "Pleomorphism and Dark Field Microscopy" in May 1996 from Scottdale, Arizona, USA and has been awarded an active membership in the New York Academy of Sciences, 1997, and International Who`s Who of Professionals,1998, from USA. He is also the first and only ayurvedic physician to get a membership of the Indian Co-operative Oncology Network (ICON)— a selected group of cancer experts in India.

He has been a member of the Railway Users Consultative Committee (1996-98). He was Chairman to the Central Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani Drugs, Technical Advisory Board, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (1996-99). He was also a member and part of the governing body to the Scientific Advisory Committee of Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (1997-2000).

Vaidya Balendu Prakash has been actively involved in the research and development of new formulation based on the traditional knowledge of ayurveda in combination with the tools of modern science. This has led him to develop a herbo-mineral formulation, Prak-20, which has potent detoxifying, antifibrotic, hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory properties for liver disorders.

He has undertaken Collaborative Clinical Research Projects with CCRAS, ICMR, Department of Women and Child Welfare, Government of India and Regional Cancer Center, Thiruvanthapuram, with the support of the Kerela Government.

His Success Stories
Vaidya Balendu Prakash says that the first state of cancer was incidentally treated by his father, the late Vaidya Chandra Prakash in 1960, under the guidance of his guru Maharaji who was a master of yoga and ayurveda. Though the late Vaidya had success, the sucess was inconsistent and wasn`t comprehended for many years. Later it was understood that batch variation in the medicine process was the main reason behind the inconsistency. After the death of his father in 1984, efforts were made to prepare the same medicines with proper documentation and these preparations were used on cancer patients. He used to spend more time in the preparation of medicines for he was convinced that the right type of preparation was the key to success.

To begin with, he started with the processing of mercury used in the formulation of `Valipani`. The entire processing of Shodhan (detoxification), Maran (grinding) and Jaran (heating) was done by him. The mercury so repared turned into white powder dust and `Valipani` was later on prepared adding the rest of the ingredients. This Valipani-86 was first used on Master Rajat Kalra, a forty-day old infant who had been diagnosed for acute leukemia at Moolchand Kharati Lal Hospital, New Delhi and at All India Instituyte of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. After receiving Vaidya Balendu`s ayurvedic treatment, the patient showed complete remission within forty days and he still leads a normal life.

Vaidya Balendu`s efforts paid off and the patient who became a landmark case in his life was Iqbal Bhan. He was diagnosed in 1982 for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at Royal Masdah Hospital, Sutton, London and was treated for three and a half years which included chemotherapy, radiation and autologous bone marrow transplantation. The patient relapsed within three months of transplantation and was given three weeks to survive. At this stage,Vaidya Balendu started his metal based ayurvedic transplantation which became a success story. Iqbal`s follow up bone marrow, blood report and general condition remain normal and he has now completed thirteen years of disease free survival.

In the same year another boy, Master Absar Khan was brought to Vaidya Balendu for treatment. He was diagnosed as the fourth reported case of acute megakaryoblastic leukemia at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Armond Street, London. Prognosis was declared as poor and no treatment was rendered by conventional therapists at UK. The boy was treated with `Valipani` and showed complete recovery within a year.

The then Science and Technology Minister, Hon`ble K.R. Narayanan (currently President of India) heard these stories and tried to motivate Indian scientists and concerned Ministries. On his initiative, Prime Minister`s Office asked the Health Ministry to provide requisite support for further research. Unfortunately, no follow up actions were taken by these organizations. At this juncture, the Vaidya Chandra Prakash Cancer Research Foundation (VCPCRF) was set up by Vaidya Balendu in memory of his father. It was set up as a charitable trust to promote research on metal based formulations to develop the treatment and control of various forms of cancer, chronic inflammatory and immunological disorders.

In the last 15 years there were a number of cases who have been benefited by this approach. Such patients were declared as terminal with poor prognosis at various reputed hospitals in India and abroad. These metal based formulations have been found to be effective in the successful treatment of leukemia. In 1996 a pilot project was sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to study the effects of metal based formulations in the treatment of Acute Pro-Myllotic Leukemia (APML) in 90 days. 15 patients were enroled in the study out of which 10 patients had shown a complete remission in peripheral blood.

This was the first time that the ayurvedic approach had achieved such an impressive success. This has also been confirmed by practitioners of the allopathic system of medicine. An ongoing effort is being made at RCC, Trivandrum, Kerela, India, where an indoor aurvedic unit has been set up with the help of the Kerela Government. Here, the treatment of cancer patients are being done with ayurvedic medicines and is being provided with proper documentation.

The finding of such studies was presented in the third conference of the International Conference of Oncology Network (ICON). Ayurvedic treatment has been acknowledged by the cancer experts and membership of ICON has been conferred for the first time to an ayurvedic practitioner in the regular group of cancer experts.